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agreed, I saw it too, the value, what people are willing to pay for our cars is it at the all time rock bottom.
I saw that cars made from the mid to late 70's brought ever $10K to $14K which is much more that the C4's brought.
Oh well, I still like my car so I'm going to just keep it
well until the aftermarket world can make decent well made replacement engine management parts I don't see the value increasing. while the C4 is good bang for your buck car its not the most practical car for a lot of people. and the electrical gremlins and a few mechanical flaws in these cars scare most people away. I daily drove a 94 for ten years so I know the headache that comes along with it.
Auctions dont include the buyer fees, and unless you car is special dont really represent a good place to buy or sell. Would have done better trading those cars in to carmax likely.
I think the styling is a factor. C4 looks too modern to have the cool, restored cruiser, status that the earlier vettes enjoy. Nobody expects great feats of acceleration or handling from them, but they're cool and they are a throwback to an earlier era.
C4 has exactly the opposite.. Modern styling and a modern look, but lacks the ability to run with modern sports cars. At least in stock form.
The specs are terrible by contemporary standards and that is how modern sports cars are judged, and the C4 still looks quite modern.
PS: It was also the clean break between the older cars the shade tree types could work on themselves, and the modern powertrain management we see today.
This caused a lot of consternation among the shade tree types, and they say so constantly.. While rattling on about their 4 barrel carbs and whatnot.
Computers and modern controls put a lot of people out of the loop because they don't understand them and never bothered to try and learn. They just hate the cars for outsmarting them.
I have heard this diatribe a number of times from older enthusiasts.
I think the styling is a factor. C4 looks too modern to have the cool, restored cruiser, status that the earlier vettes enjoy. Nobody expects great feats of acceleration or handling from them, but they're cool and they are a throwback to an earlier era.
C4 has exactly the opposite.. Modern styling and a modern look, but lacks the ability to run with modern sports cars. At least in stock form.
The specs are terrible by contemporary standards and that is how modern sports cars are judged, and the C4 still looks quite modern.
As is the case with many other 80/90s sports cars, not just Vettes.
Mecum gets a lot of their cars from "collections". They hound an Estate Executor, or widow, children, heirs, etc until they make a deal for all the cars. One price for all of them. Now Mecum owns them, and takes them to his auctions. He doesn't give a **** what he gets for them, unless an individual lot is truly something special. The idea that all these cars at all these auctions are being put up by private individuals is fallacy. Its mostly brokers, dealers and flippers moving cars around the country among themselves, looking for the Greater Fool. If a car is truly special or desirable, most owners have several buyers lined up for it when they are ready to sell. All they do is pick up the phone. The truly good cars don't go to auctions.
I have begun to hear a comment more and more recently regarding a reason for the soft prices at auctions. There are TOO MANY AUCTIONS. Over 75 of them a year now. There just isn't the liquidity and supply to support this much activity, hence soft prices. The auctioneers don't care, they still pull about 20% out of every deal. New car dealers only dream of 20%. Classic car auctions are a lucrative racket. No wonder there are 75 of them a year. And now a large part of the reason for soft prices.
No kidding, mecum, but, all the local ones, sure there are plenty others, plus you have website like bat, and eBay still...
Agree with the cars outsmarting many, without forums Id never have bought one.
The C5 and newer ones resale will be even worse as the electronics are more complicated.
Hope they stay cheap so one can be had in the future as a beater.
Agree with the cars outsmarting many, without forums Id never have bought one.
The C5 and newer ones resale will be even worse as the electronics are more complicated.
Hope they stay cheap so one can be had in the future as a beater.
I'd argue the early C5s are actually worse as most of the electronics that flake out are way out of production now. Aside from my own stupidity in one instance, the car has yet to outsmart me but then again I deal with the newer stuff so these are comparatively simple. It's still analogue data but you're interpreting it on either end digitally. Removing yourself from the time line looking back the tech jump wasn't that huge for the first iteration. By the end of the l98s things were pretty serious though.
I think the styling is a factor. C4 looks too modern to have the cool, restored cruiser, status that the earlier vettes enjoy. Nobody expects great feats of acceleration or handling from them, but they're cool and they are a throwback to an earlier era.
C4 has exactly the opposite.. Modern styling and a modern look, but lacks the ability to run with modern sports cars. At least in stock form.
The specs are terrible by contemporary standards and that is how modern sports cars are judged, and the C4 still looks quite modern.
agreed.
and thank you for adding the caveat ‘at least in stock form’
everyone acts like it cant be modified to keep pace. With enough money..... (the newer ones youd prob spend less to modify with all the cookie cutter parts and speed shops specializing in them)....
The new ones keep getting better and the previous generations will continue to depreciate to used car values as normally seen other than the C1/2 generations. The 1980’s and 90’s cars in general just don’t do well in the market. Maybe that will change one day, but my speculation is they are high in supply and low in demand for many years to come. That’s why I dumped mine this summer after 17 years. Needed to much to merit the costs of repairs and maintenance. Plus ready to move on to something else.
The C4s total production was so much more than the C1 and C2s. The C3s with the big blocks will still go for big bucks. The later ones even the pace car seem to have really came down.
I had a great looking 2002 C5 Vert sitting in my yard in September for sale (not my car) and the owner was asking around $25,000 and lot of lookers but only one offer and it was $18,000.00. I would have sold it if it was mine. He did not sell the car.
I never had any thought that the 84 I purchased in 2011 and completely restored will ever bring even half of what I have put in it. I enjoyed restoring it and love driving it. I am going to save it for my Granddaughter when she turns 16 in 6 more years. I am trying to get her to appreciate what they are. Most kids that I deal with would rather have a small foreign made car than a American classic. The whole market is depressed except for a few exceptions.
You definitely can get some great deals on C4s and other built cars. No way can you restore one for what a lot of them are selling for.
I can buy C5 convertibles with decent miles around here all day for $12,000. It’s not about the money with these cars. They are mass-produced to a degree that the ‘60s cars were not, and built to last longer. (Yes- it’s true).
I love it because it’s a Corvette. Not because of what it is worth.
I like my 85. I took most of the engine electronics out. It's now a 383 with a 6 speed.
It's reliable. The dash works when it wants, I may switch over to regular analogue gauges.
The radio was replaced. It's very reliable. Just stupid things to fix. Its the sports model with the electric seats and HD suspension - yes the ride sucks, especially after dropping
it 1.5 inches.
The 6al2 box went bad - drove me nuts - put in a 1980 disy - runs the same less parts.
12-08-2018, 07:38 AM
